Karin's Rainbow Gathering 2011 news and ideas for creating a safe, fun and healing gathering in Washington State, July 1 - 7, 2011. As with all things related to Rainbow Gatherings, this is not an official source of information and represents my thoughts and opinions only. Other people will have different ideas. Email me if you wish.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Inviting all people in the area or from distant lands to rendezvous at the site of the 2011 Annual Gathering of the Tribes to search for Marie before the first snow fall. Meet around 10 AM on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1st on US Forest Service Road 3111 -- about a mile west of the Lone Butt Snow Park. Road 3111 picks up a 1/4 mile west of the intersection of Wind River/Meadow Creek and Forest Service Road 30 (also called Lone Butte). Drive about another 1/2 to 3/4 mile and you'll see find the search party. the intersection of US Forest Service Road 32 and 150 (back gate)... For directions, click here.

We need self-sufficient persons... i.e. people who have their own transportation and, hopefully, bring a Search Partner as we will be using the buddy system so we don't loose anyone else.

Bring warm, brightly covered clothes... Hunting season is upon us and we don't want you to get shot.

We'll be asking all volunteers to go through a workshop concerning the search -- please honor this process as we want to find Marie and protect any evidence we may encounter while making sure you stay safe. If you come, you are liable for your own safety. This is rough country so be prepared for freezing temperatures and wet weather. Wear hiking boots. Be prepared for bugs, bugs and more bugs.
We will be doing "grid work" meaning walking close with one another for 2 days.
We respectfully ask you to move out of the immediate area Saturday night - people will probably retreat to a campground in the area. Folks on site will plug you in once you're there. Marie's family will be with us and it would be great if a few people can come and focus their energy on supporting the family during this stressful and emotional time. We strongly encourage all local town folks to come participate in this search. We need your help ~~ the more legs the better and you all know this area better than we do.

EVERYONE, please take the time to watch this video and see if you remember seeing Mellow on the evening of July 7, anytime on July 8 or July 9 & 10. Cathy is in the background when Mellow is being interviewed.

~~ HOW TO HELP EVEN IF YOU CAN'T MAKE THE SEARCH ~~

We're trying to reach out to any person who was at the gathering on July 7 and/or 8th and who may have been on the road past the 150 gate on FS Road 32 near Omnivore Cafe and 1 mile in either direction on 32. If you were in that area and saw any of these people, this car or this dog, please email me, post anonymously to this blog, contact the family directly or either of the sheriff's departments involved in this case.

Cathy's Car. Marie was last seen on USFS Road 32 the night of July 7 near this car. If you remember seeing anything around this car between sundown on July 7 and July 10, you may have the missing info that will help us find Marie.

Other than Mystery Man, we know who everyone else is. So if you know who Mystery Man is, please ask him to share what he and Marie talked about that last day.
On a tangential issue, I'm looking for information on anyone who did ceremony at the gathering in a tent with a shaman named Troy where Bandit the dog was present.

Please download and distribute this flyer in your local co-ops, head shops, dispensaries or any place you can think of in your area were hippies or gatherers might visit. For general info and more photos of Marie, click here.

Please help in what ever way you can. Contact the media in your community and get the message out. In forty years of gathering, we have yet to loose anyone from the gathering site. Please don't let Marie be the first one. This is our chance to show the local folks how we walk our talk. Let's help Marie's family find closure by finding her remains so they can morn, celebrate her life and bury her according to their beliefs.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.~~ Nelson Mandela

Thursday, September 1, 2011

I'm trying to get a higher resolution photo, but in the meantime, do you remember meeting "Bandit" the dog at Loven Ovens or Safe Swinging. Bandit would have been accompanied by Mellow, Marie or Cathy.

Marie was last seen late on the night of July 8 camped near this car on the 3220 road (where all the cars were parked), past the 150 road/gate (Kitchen Drop Off, Ominvore Cafe, dirt road to Loven Ovens).

She was camping with Mellow and Cathy, aka Cat or Cheshire Cat. For photos of all three, click here. If anyone saw Marie, Mellow or Cathy on July 7, 8 or 9, every detail of when and where the interaction happened is very important. Also critical is things like the vibes you got, what kind of a mood they were in, what they were doing and even what they were wearing. If you remember anything, you can contact the sheriff (509-427-9490) or you can contact the family by going to the Find Marie Hanson website. If you prefer, you can call me at 858-405-7503 or email me. Finally, if you want to remain anonymous, post a comment on this blog with any information you may have.

July 6 Mystery Man

There was a man Marie was seen with on July 6. He is described by the witness as a white male adult, late 40’s or 50’s, approximately 5’08”, and a thin build and is shown in the sketch to the left. He wore many silver necklaces with medallions, and had rings on his fingers, wore a dark colored Duster type jacket and carried a cane. If you know who he is or are him, we are trying to figure out what was going on with Marie on July 6th.

Also, anyone who was around a dog named "Bandit." The dog was white with a black patch of fur over the eye like lil raskles or a racoon. Hence the bandit name. The dog was being care taken by the man in the sketch. The dog's owner was Cathy. The dog never left Cathy's lap once she arrived at the gathering.

Shanti Sena Search Party

This weekend (Labor Day Weekend), folks will be going back up to the site for three days of searching for Marie Hanson and camping with each other. The search will be through rough terrain, so bring your hiking boots, rope, basic camping gear, plenty of drinking water and some food. This is not a gathering, but a Shanti Sena Search Party and Camp-out to see if we can find Marie Hanson's body. The directions to the gathering are here.

When searching, please use the buddy system, at least 3 people within visual sight of each other at all times. The reason for three is that if someone gets hurt, one person stays with the hurt person, one person goes for help. Furthermore, this will allow you to serve as each other's witnesses in case you find anything.

If you go to the land and find what you believe may be human remains, do not touch anything. Keep everyone back from the spot, send someone to call the sheriff and leave at least 3 people near the site. Take photos if you have a camera. THIS IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. There may be evidence on the body which we do not want to contaminate.

Finally if you have any information about Marie Hanson’s whereabouts feel free to contact Detective Tim Garrity at the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office at 509-427-9490 or email him.

Northwest Tribes Lightline

(503) 727-2498

Washington Family Lightline

Forwarded info: For good updated info on info for the Washington state annual gathering of the tribes 2011..please contact the Washington state lightline @ (509)217*6573 between the hours of 10am and 10pm Pacific Time unless it is a emergency!!! or dial 911!!!PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE!! on a side note please do not flood the lightlines with calls for direction to the nationals this will be chosen by consensus at spring council 2011 on june 12th..(site to be announced for that location)..please do not flood the lightlines with directions to holding camps these direction are to be announced very soon as well..please be patient family...i know everyone has rainbow fever..but this is a long process to get our family to the rite place at the rite time...WE LOVE YOU and we will see you soon!

Mailing Address

If you prefer to communicate via snail mail or want to send a few dollars to help with scouting or other pre-gathering related costs:

Washington Rainbow Gathering 2011 P.O. Box 76 Oroville, WA 98844

Rainbow Links

Welcome Home

I try to cover a wide range of gathering specific topics on this blog to help those new to gathering create a safe and positive gathering experience. If I haven't covered a topic on this year's blog, odds are I or a guest blogger covered it in one of the prior year's gatherings. Some of the information will be outdated, but most of the basics will be the same. If there's a specific topic you're curious about, email me and I'll try to cover it or invite a guest blogger to do so.

About Me

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket

GETTING INTO THE GATHERING WITHOUT GETTING A MANDATORY COURT APPEARANCE TICKET

Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law.

However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates set up just for us, so we can go to the local courthouse, fire station or visitors center and go before a magistrate. In the past, charges have been reduced, fines were often minimal and the court has allowed people to make payment plans ranging from 90 days to pay $75 to 18 months to pay $25 depending on the hardship cases people have expressed.

If you do not show up for your mandatory court appearance on the date indicated on your ticket, a Federal Bench Warrant will be issued for your arrest. Then the USFS LEOs will come into the gathering looking for you. If they find you they will arrest you and put you in jail until the next court date. If this happens on a Friday afternoon, you will be in jail until Monday. If they do not find you at the gathering, the next time a law enforcement officer for any reason stops you, your ID will be run through the database and you will go directly to jail.

Of course, everyone is free to manage this situation as they wish but I strongly recommend you go to your court date. I have seen people charged with crimes that could potentially result in a six years sentence walk out with a $500 fine and three years’ probation. Keep in mind that every year the dynamic is different and these results may not always be available. There are lawyers at the gathering (I am not a legal expert) who attend the court dates and will assist as best they can although I recommend you catch up with them before your court date to gain a better understanding of your specific charges and strategies to get the charges dropped or reduced. If you do not know these people personally, go to INFO and let them know you received one of the magic tickets and you need legal assistance.